King of Prussia-based Center for Breakthrough Medicines, along with its Discovery Labs, has become a symbol for the rapid rise of life sciences in the Philadelphia region, reported Malcolm Burnley for Philadelphia Magazine.

The “gizmos” found inside the complex bring to mind something that many would expect to see in a futuristic movie:

• A robot-controlled bioreactor
• A “viral positive” room
• A flow cytometry lab in which lasers hit human cells suspended in liquid to see if they’ll glow fluorescent colors

Not only are all these machines real, but they also are being used to produce life-changing medicines.

“It’s like science fiction — like you’re reading a weird novel or some other craziness,” said Audrey Greenberg, co-founder and chief business officer of the center. “It’s the future of medicine, honestly.”

Greenberg and her business partners bought the King of Prussia campus from Glaxo­SmithKline five years ago. In the one-million-square-foot space, they founded Discovery Labs.

A year later, they created the Center for Breakthrough Medicines, an outsourcing hub for the “living drugs” sector of biotech.

Read more about Montgomery County‘s innovative tech site in Philadelphia Magazine.

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A look at the high-tech assets at the King of Prussia center.